Rahuul Ssoni

Develop business plan of category in line with strategic objectives of categories.

• Formulate and communicate category performance objectives and continuously monitor progress and alignment toward strategic objectives.
• Establish new sources of trending products and ensure that category maintains competitive edge and meets customer needs.
• Onboarded 100+potential suppliers in Electronics, Mobile, Computer peripherals, MDA, SDA, FMCG, Toys, and Beauty categories and contributed 60ktrending and fast-moving SKUs.
• Collaborate with Assistant Category Managers and merchandising team to curate and oversee product assortment, ensuring it aligns with customer demand and is consistent with category strategy.
• Launched additional sales channels, including Facebook Lead Generation Campaigns, to generate additional revenue.
• Implemented weekly, monthly, and event-specific campaigns by doing market research on Google and various social media platforms which achieved Year-to-Date (YTD) revenue of AED 6m, accompanied by Average Transaction Value (ATV) of AED 450+
• Independently partnered with major banks (ADCB and Emirates NBD), to seamlessly integrate their services for their customers with eZkrt.com providing brand awareness.
• Launched promotional campaign for debit and credit cardholders, fostering trust among customers for emerging platform, resulting in spending versus revenue ratio of less than 4% and enhancement in brand value.
• By analyzing data, we are able to find insights on category performance, customer behavior, and sales trends.
• Created and delivered Weekly and monthly routine reports on key performance indicators (KPIs) and category performance to support informed decision-making.
• Collaborate with marketing, content, operations, finance, and other departments to ensure effective implementation of category strategies and initiatives
• Devised content strategy to effectively engage target audiences
• Enhanced supplier relationships through regular communication and collaborative problem-solving efforts
• Spearheaded new product introduction processes from ideation through commercialization, delivering innovative solutions that drove category growth
• Executed comprehensive marketing plans that consistently achieved targets for increased revenue
• Assisted in conducting audits of key suppliers and monitored supplier performance
• Developed creative presentations, trend reports, kitted assets, and product data sheets
• Developed detailed sales forecasts based on historical data, allowing for proactive inventory management decisions
• Conducted market research to identify new opportunities and target markets
• Optimized space allocation for product displays based on sales data, ensuring maximum visibility and sell-through rates
• Used strong analytical and problem-solving skills to develop effective solutions for challenging situations

• Complete weekly buying responsibility for all toy categories including Boys, Art & Craft, Preschool, Plush and Roleplay categories for 4 Hamleys UAE stores with more than 50K SKUs with sales volume AED 150m+ YTD within 300+ international brands.
• Managed and tracked OTB during weekly stock replacement, Assortment planning and flow of merchandise across all stores.
• Manages the pricing for the complete catalogue of 50K SKUs, mark-up, mark-down rates & pricing for local, in-house, and online purchases.
• Established strong vendor relationship network with 35+ vendors.
• Monthly tracking of ageing inventory and suggested liquidations based on markdowns to support business.
• Planned and coordinated availability of products for in-store and marketing promotions.
• Regularly tracked competitive research by visiting stores and online sites
• Responsible for activation of all promotions within stores and tracking performance in Microsoft Dynamics
• Ensures proper monitoring of orders based on buying plan and follows up on merchandise delivery by the plan as well as oversees the buying requirements and formulates budget for brand/category.
• Review and re-negotiate contracts with selected vendors periodically for duration of the business relationship to maximize profits.
• Conducted market and supplier research to enhance sourcing and negotiation strategies.
• Reviewed each store location's buying trends to ascertain correct assortment of apparel for maximum sales and profits.
• Developed and maintained detailed reports to track procurement performance, identifying areas for improvement and making recommendations for future actions.
• Negotiated contracts with vendors for cost-effective purchasing terms.
• Improved inventory turnover by implementing strategic demand planning and forecasting techniques.

• Drive sales from assigned category by developing comprehensive business plans.
• Achieve maximum benefit for company by negotiating lead times, costs, and quality with suppliers.
• Analyses sales-related data for products within brand/category portfolio and provides insights into enhancing potential sales opportunities.
• Monitors and analyses business performance by brand/category sales, sell-out, gross margin and turnover and translates insights into key selling points or category opportunities.
• Ensures proper assortment mix and share of Own Brands within category.
• Ensures access to market intelligence through various sources on competition pricing and business and analysis of trends which may impact Business Unit.
• Analyzed sales performance and adjusted marketing strategies to optimize revenue generation.
• Increased overall category sales by developing and executing strategic merchandising plans.
• Managed a diverse portfolio of products, ensuring optimal mix between high-margin items and cost-effective options for customers.
• Executed comprehensive marketing plans that consistently achieved targets for increased revenue.
• Developed and executed spend category to support business objectives.
• Conducted market research to identify new opportunities and target markets.
• Managed time efficiently in order to complete all tasks within deadlines.

• Accountable for end-to-end development and buying of entire electronics product category including MDA, SDA, AV, and others with a yearly contribution of 12% and sales of AED 135m
• Actively engaged in day-to-day operations of product line, collaborating with suppliers to develop weekly, monthly, and seasonal marketing strategies to drive sales
• Monitored and regularly coordinated with suppliers to obtain stock movements and generated purchase orders to ensure optimal inventory levels based on business requirements
• Implemented in-store promotions to boost sales for underperforming stores with price & marketing support from suppliers
• Identify and react quickly to trends in business to maximize sales, and test emerging trends for selling viability
• Analyze daily, weekly, and monthly sales, margins, and aged inventory to optimize sales and minimize markdowns
• Identify new suppliers and provide documents and assistance to register them in vendor database
• Discover innovative and new ways to display products and stay on top of retail trends.
• Managed department budget, ensuring optimal allocation of resources for maximum impact on company goals
• Oversaw vendor selection process, negotiating contracts for better pricing and service quality
• Applied effective time management techniques to meet tight deadlines.

• Responsible for building managing and delivering category and brand budgets
• Responsible for building and planning Skin Mass category
• Assist Sr Buyer in maintaining all information related to seasonal buys including purchase orders, product information, and order confirmations for 21 Lifestyle stores in Eastern Province
• KSA with 45m+ YTD sales along with 300+ international cosmetics and fragrance brands
• Established source of suppliers, negotiated prices, delivery dates, and other necessary commitments based upon authorized requisition that maintains consistency with Program/Requisitioning Unit requirement and compliance with company policies and federal regulations
• Identify new suppliers and provide documents and assistance to register them in vendor database
• Securing commercial terms improvement across margin, payment terms, marketing investment and purchasing retro’s Forms & nurtures strategic brand relationships building strength in relationships with key brand partners to leverage investment opportunities, terms discussions and their global networks.